Shrrk.
A translucent sword rose above the Sword Demon's sword aura, wrapped in an ash-gray Aura.
The blade, which looked as if it had been white from the very beginning, so condensed was the Sword Force, had cut through all of this — and had even sliced halfway through the Sword Demon beyond it.
The Sword Demon stared blankly at my sword, which had diagonally split his upper body.
He vomited blood, barely clinging to life with his remaining internal energy, and asked.
"…How?"
My martial arts and the Sword Demon's were similar yet opposite, the Skill we had built up differed little, and even our Realms had reached roughly the same level.
I might be able to gain the upper hand, but not to the point of utterly crushing him in a frontal clash like this.
In the first place, the Sword Demon's unbreakable sword was the embodiment of his own Intent.
That's why he couldn't understand it. Because the Sword Demon's Intent had yet to be broken. But.
"The weight contained in the sword is different."
"Weight… is it."
Intent is, in essence, the mind. If so, then what was contained in the Sword Demon's sword was an infinite conviction in himself.
I am right. This path is the straightest path of the sword. A person can advance to a higher realm by becoming a sword, and so on.
Whether that is right or wrong is beyond dispute. Regardless, the Sword Demon had reached the Harmony Realm, and though I truly cannot acknowledge it, perhaps his path was not wrong after all.
But if that were so, in the end, would it not be a sword meant only for oneself?
"My sword is not meant only for me."
"…Sword Demon. Is something like that possible for a man like you?"
More than possible.
Certainly, in the time before my regression, when I was called Blood Wolf—that is, when I was still a martial artist at the Peak Realm—I too might have been no different from the Sword Demon.
But there were always good people around me back then. …This is where things changed.
The fragrance of a single pear. A single falling camellia flower. And a hall engulfed in flames.
In the end, my sword was forged in blood and fire.
In the end, I perished in the resentment of a promise I could not keep.
And then came the second chance I was granted. At some point, my sword was no longer carrying only myself upon it.
It was not swung to complete my sword, nor was it swung for my own glory.
I simply wanted to protect. It was too bitter to have lost so much until now.
"…People's hearts are all different, so it is impossible to fully understand one another. That is why I pursued an unchanging sword."
"Perhaps you are right, Sword Demon. I have no intention of denying the desire for an unwavering standard. Even more so if that standard is the sword."
"Then…"
"However, there is one thing you have gotten wrong. Perhaps living by the sword is more comfortable than living among people…but what am I to do when there are those I have come to hold deeply in my heart without even realizing it?"
My mind's landscape is mine alone. Yet as one lives, others naturally find their way into it.
That is the moment when a sword meant only for oneself becomes a sword meant not just for oneself, but for others as well.
"In the end, there are those who can never become a sword."
"…"
The Sword Demon, who had kept his mouth shut for a moment, shook his head, his voice still gloomy.
"No. Even so, I believe I was right."
"…I feel the same."
"Heh. I figured as much."
The Sword Demon forced the corners of his mouth upward, but soon, as if all strength had left him, he slumped over.
With eyes whose light was fading, he muttered quietly.
"I should never have accepted the Heavenly Demon's help. What meaning was there in raising my realm through another's power…"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"…"
The Sword Demon gave no answer. I quietly drew my sword from his chest, which had not even twitched.
His body crumpled and fell face-first onto the ground. Looking down at it, I let out a short sigh.
"I have no idea what's going on anymore."
The moment I let it out through my mouth, pain and fatigue came flooding in.
My internal energy was already rampaging close to a violent surge, and this was the backlash from having gathered every bit of my Intent to unleash an excessive strike.
But the battle wasn't over yet. A sensation like flames flowing through my Meridians. I forced down the headache that threatened to split my head in two and aimed my sword at the next opponent.
The Heavenly Demon struck down the Lord of the Black Alliance's spear—said to never miss—head-on with Force Qi Skill, threw a fist straight at Seomun Hwa-rin's punch, and blocked Namgung Dowi's sword with the edge of his hand.
The sheer energy waves from colliding massive internal energy made those of lower realms collapse with blood pouring from their ears.
The oppressive aura of Intent clashing against Intent froze even the bodies of those who had once been called experts.
I kicked off the ground toward the one who, even while facing a force greater than the Black Alliance alone, still wore a bored expression.
Kwa-rung!
The world blurred past as the Thunder Step roared.
This speed was incomparable to any Thunder Step I had unleashed before—possible only now, with my internal energy flowing so violently.
The Heavenly Demon, who had been far away, closed the distance to right before my eyes in an instant.
My Force Qi Skill was already being used against the Lord of the Black Alliance, and both arms were occupied blocking the attacks of Seomun Hwa-rin and Namgung Dowi.
I pulled the sword, still stained white like moonlight, back behind my shoulder, stretching it out fully. The posture was like drawing a bowstring. And then—
Kwa-rung!
Instead of slowing my charge, I stomped down hard with my heel.
Following the fluid motion of my joints and muscles, all the strength in my body concentrated into the sword.
And then came the simple thrust that followed.
A technique of the Mount Tai Sword, carrying within it the full mystery of the Hwangbo Clan's Mount Tai Fist.
If there was any obstacle in the way, this was a single honest sword strike that would pierce through all of it.
However, this alone was insufficient. The Mount Tai Sword was an excellent technique, but the Heavenly Demon was currently blocking three techniques of similar or greater caliber with ease.
So I added a little more.
The path of the Sword Demon was far too different from mine in direction… but even so, there was one thing I acknowledged.
His sword was faithful to the essence of what a sword should be.
Though at the end, he did say something meaningful about gaining enlightenment with the Heavenly Demon's help.
Regardless, the Sword-Mind Unity he had manifested was real. That translucent sword was harder and sharper than any half-hearted Aura.
A sword only needs to be hard and sharp. That was something I could agree with.
So I take whatever I can take.
The sword that stretches toward the Heavenly Demon's heart. Extremely condensed Aura wraps around the blade like a thin membrane, and on the sword shining with Moonlight… I cease all distinction.
The Black Iron sword and the thin Aura covering it — I simply lump them together and call it a sword.
A sword exists to kill the Opponent.
The reason for wielding a sword may differ, but the value of a sword as a tool lies in its edge.
If what I hold in my hand is a sword, then in any situation, I will be able to pierce through the Opponent's vital points.
Until then, it will neither break nor lose its sharpness.
Because that is the most ideal sword I can conceive of.
Wooong—!
The half-drawn sword fiercely burst with its Geommyeong, then the trembling quietly subsided.
Perhaps because it is an Intent that shares the same vein in that it pushes through whatever it desires, no matter the obstacle.
As expected, the two Intents naturally merged, adding strength to the sword.
Perhaps because, along with my mental image, the techniques of others that I had awkwardly imitated were concentrated into a single strike.
An illusion arises that the world is distorting around my sword. It must be because the excessive Intent is warping the natural order.
At this point, the gazes of the others began to focus on me as well.
What the Lord of the Black Alliance, Seomun Hwa-rin, and Namgung Dowi caught in their eyes was shock and admiration. And certainty.
As if they believed my sword would pierce the Heavenly Demon's heart.
…But what hung in the Heavenly Demon's eyes was willingness.
The bastard who had worn only a bored expression while facing three Harmony Realm martial artists at once now had an unmistakable smile at the corner of his mouth.
Like someone who had found a pearl on the beach…the unique joy of one who has discovered an unexpected treasure.
I gritted my teeth at the Heavenly Demon's first-ever smile and drove my sword in to the hilt. And then.
A pitch-black Aura, swelling hugely around his body, blocked my sword.
"What is this…"
I hadn't expected it to be blocked this easily, but I couldn't let it end like this.
I poured every last bit of my remaining internal energy and Intent into the sword, lending it even more force.
It seemed to work—the blazing white blade trembled and slowly carved into the black Aura, until at last its tip touched the hem of the Heavenly Demon's robes.
…That was all.
Protective Qi.
The absolute gap that made a Harmony Realm martial artist into an absolute master.
But it was a technique that, when two Harmony Realm martial artists clashed their Aura against each other, tended to shatter far sooner than one might expect…
The Heavenly Demon's Protective Qi was on a completely different level. I hadn't expected it to so easily block even a sword carrying that much force.
As I stood there stunned, his voice reached my ears.
"Impressive. And do not worry. I am a man who always keeps the promises he makes with his own mouth."
His tone feigned benevolence. At the same time, the Protective Qi enveloping his entire body writhed and took shape into a single form.
Sharp claws and a massive fist clenched tight. Its height rivaled the tallest building in the Black Alliance, and atop its peak hung a sinister smile.
"Ah."
A demonic figure soaring high into the sky. The moment I looked up at it, I could understand.
The essence of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was Force Qi Skill, and this was its ultimate technique.
The Heavenly Demon's Dominion Step was the stride of the demon within the Heavenly Demon's mental image, and the mass of energy that had blocked the Black Alliance Lord's spear was the demon's gesture.
The illusion of the sky darkening every time the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was used must have been because that demon was gazing down upon the earth.
And now. The Heavenly Demon had brought out everything it had.
Naturally pushed back by the energy wave and forced to keep my distance, I watched the creature along with the others.
An overwhelming pressure that made me wonder if this was truly a fellow Harmony Realm martial artist. The one saving grace was that the Heavenly Demon was not entirely invincible.
The shallow wounds the other three had left on the Heavenly Demon's body. And the thin line my sword had managed to pierce through that thick energy.
Just as raindrops bore through rock, surely one day I would break through the Heavenly Demon's Force Qi Skill and sever its neck.
…If I were at full strength, that is.
We were all exhausted, myself included. Yet the Heavenly Demon remained at ease as it continued speaking.
"Per our agreement, I shall take my leave now. Of course, that is only if you let me go."
"…"
"…"
"…"
Even the foul-tempered Lord of the Black Alliance and the sword-obsessed Namgung Dowi could not bring themselves to demand another round of fighting in this state. They simply glared at it in silence.
And Seomun Hwa-rin, who was hardly the combative type, needed no further explanation.
The Heavenly Demon surveyed them all once, then nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. Then listen well."
BOOM!
As the Heavenly Demon stamped his foot, a massive storm of Aura erupted around him.
From within the storm that gradually enveloped the Demon's entire body, his voice came through.
No—could a sound that did not come from the throat even be called a voice?
The entire space trembled as his art, akin to Voice Transmission, covered the surrounding area.
"I am the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the master of all demons."
"Remember the name of one who calls himself the executor of heavenly punishment and defiles the heavens."
"You may call me the Heavenly Demon."
With those final words, the massive storm of Demonic Qi subsided, and the spot where the Heavenly Demon had stood was already empty.
The colossal demonic form, the suffocating pressure—all of it had vanished without a trace.
As if none of it had ever existed.
Only the Sword Demon's corpse, still lying on the ground, and the lingering Demonic Qi proved that it had not been a hallucination.
I maintained my tension for a moment, but the moment I realized that the Heavenly Demon had truly left, I let out a deep sigh.
Then, using the remaining Demonic Qi as a medium, a faint whisper reached my ears—a voice only I could hear.
"The heavens no longer watch over us, but their gifts and their shackles remain."
Sword Demon. You and I are not so different.
"…!"
That was something that had a reason to be heard only by me.